French troops enter Mali's Diabaly as Islamists vanish

Reuters Staff

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A French soldier is reflected in the mirror of a military jeep in Niono January 20, 2013. REUTERS/Joe Penney

NIONO, Mali (Reuters) - A column of French and Malian armoured personnel carriers and supply trucks moved north into the central Malian town of Diabaly early on Monday after the Islamist rebels who were controlling it melted away, security sources said.

Diabaly, 350 km (220 miles) north of the capital Bamako, had harboured the main cluster of rebels south of the front-line towns of Mopti and Sevare until French airstrikes forced them to flee or attempt to blend in with locals, residents said.

“French and Malian forces have advanced to Diabaly and they will continue their mission of securing the town,” the deputy commander of Malian forces in nearby Niono, who gave his name only as Captain Samasa, told Reuters. Another security source confirmed the information on condition of anonymity.